Support a Cause

I use social media quite a bit for autism awareness. I am committed to the cause and will continue to be proactive about disability support and acceptance. However, I have noticed that people will respond positively to selfies and pictures of random events but remain radio silent when it comes to postings about donating or bringing awareness or promoting acceptance.

I knew when I began this journey as an advocate, I would experience bumps along the way. I get that it's hard for others to identify with disability awareness, especially if it's never affected them personally, but I guess I was just keeping hope alive...

Autism Awareness Month???

So April has has been slated as Autism Awareness Month. there is even a big deal made of "Lighting It Up Blue" at major landmarks around the world yet because we going to do. However this year has not seen the same level fanfare from years past. In fact there is little evidence that autism awareness is on anyone's mind these days.

Many people had been opposed to even acknowledging April as autism awareness month because of its association with the controversial organization Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks has been criticized for calling a disease that can be cured ( something that I personally do not believe). But regardless of one's beliefs about an organizations mission statement, the fact still remains that autism had been brought to the forefront in a spectacular way and it was up to us to carry the torch and speak truth into dialogue that would certainly arise about autism and NOT leave it to others to tell our stories or speak our truths!

My fear is that now we are taking steps back instead of moving forward in our efforts to raise awareness and promote acceptance of individuals with autism.

Support a Cause! Help raise AWARENESS

Autism Panel

We are SO excited about our upcoming panel presentation at NC A & T State University! Hopefully this is the start of something that will continue to grow and have a positive impact on the autism community.

The Early Bird Initiative~365 Days a Year

As April approaches, so does the annual "Light It Up Blue" campaign created by Autism Speaks to raise awareness about autism in communities across the world. I have always maintained (and will continue to do so) that we need more research devoted to the lives of people with autism, not just causes of autism.

With millions of people living with autism,
both directly and indirectly, learning about the causes of autism is not as  relevant as issues like: early diagnosis, interventions, wandering, transition, healthcare, education...and the list goes on.

Those of us who consider ourselves to be advocates/activists should actively use our voices not only during the month of April, but the other 11 months of the year as well.

So let's commit ourselves to raising autism awareness 365 days a year!

Autism Awareness, Acceptance & Support

Check this out on Pinterest. My Life My Autism - www.pinterest.com/drmarquisgrant4/my-life-my-autism/?s=3&m=blogger

Let's Kick Things Into Shape

I've said it before. We can't just sit back and wait for others to take action. It's up to each and every one of us to push for what is right, what is fair and what is just.
When my children were diagnosed,  I realized the importance of advocacy when I started to question their respective places in our society. Ideas like acceptance and awareness began to take shape and I understood, for the first time in my life, what it truly meant to fight.

So I'm fighting for all children,  all individuals with autism...with different abilities. I'm fighting for a society where the word normal is not used to describe human beings. A society where acceptance is not optional. A society where my children are not outsiders standing on the outside looking in.

Things don't have to be the way they are. We can kick things into shape...

Disability Acceptance and the "It Crowd"

"To no human charter am I indebted my rights..." This quote really struck a cord with me because there are so many of us in society who are fighting for acceptance.  I am an advocate for autism acceptance in hopes that my children will be given the same opportunities in this world as everyone else...but is acceptance something that we should be fighting for? Is it something that should be earned? The answer is NO!

Acceptance should be automatic...something we have without the interference of others. A foregone conclusion. We are not indebted to others for our rights, yet we're placed in these categories of "normal" and "regular" with a "them" and an "us" mentality.

Our society is and has always been one huge clique...you either fit in or you don't. It's like trying to get accepted by the it crowd at school based on their standards, at their discretion of whether you have what it takes to fit in with them.

My children and so many others with disabilities or whatever the situation should not have to fight for acceptance. They should just be allowed to live life! If we are not indebted to others for our rights, why does the need for acceptance even exist?

Telling Our Stories

It's time for us to start telling our stories...individuals with autism, their families, parents,  significant others need to speak out about our lived experiences in hopes of inspiring others, bringing awareness to autism and taking ownership of how autism is portrayed in the media.

Telling our story inspires someone else...it pushes for better acceptance and greater advocacy for autism. It also gives us a clearer perspective of the world around us by making us reach inward in order to draw out the emotions,  the truths, the realities that we experience every day.

Let's begin to tell our stories...

Invisible Disabilities: Why Can't People Understand?

It amazes me when people tell me, matter-of-factly,  that my children do not look disabled. I actually had an intense conversation with a friend where he blatantly told me that there was nothing wrong with my sons and if he was in a relationship with me, I would not be saying that my children have autism. He went on to point out that when he was a child, his mother told him that he could be anything he wanted to be. He was implying that a)I was somehow a bad mother for saying my children have autism and b) children with autism cannot also be successful.

The sad part about all of this is that it isn't uncommon for people to make these types of comments when a disability dies not manifest itself in a physical way. Saying little Johnny doesn't look disabled doesn't change the facts. Furthermore, it's insulting to a parent to make such statements.

I,  for one, have nothing to gain by saying my children have autism. I am not receiving any disability benefits ( but if I was, so what?) nor am I exhalted to some higher level of being. The fact is, all disabilities are not visible. People should be more respectful and practice more compassion when talking to others about their child's state of being. I never associate autism with anything negative nor do I want it to define who my children are as human beings.

We live in a society that still has a long way to go when it comes to disability awareness and acceptance...and I intend to remain on the frontlines when it comes to raising awareness.

Raising Autism Awareness

Check out this video at https://youtu.be/rguyTZeeQv8 where children talk about their experiences with autism. Promoting awareness and acceptance of autism requires distributing information by way of individuals' experiences. First-hand accounts offer authentic hard-to-ignore facts that are often ignored in media depictions or second-hand observations.

Making a Difference: Disability Awareness

Let's make a difference in the coming new year to raise awareness and support acceptance of all disabilities. The simple fact that people with disabilities have to ASK to be understood says a lot about our society and the emphasis we place on " normal", "regular", and "typical".

So, as 2015 winds down, let's all make a commitment to take up the cause,  whether it's autism, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, etc. No matter how small, we can make changes happen! Looking forward to this next chapter of raising awareness!

Raising Autism Awareness

Raising awareness about autism is a challenging task. We assume that people should just accept those things that are different in others but that is often not the case. So we have to speak out a little louder, push a little harder, work a little longer in order to support those we love with autism.